Wisconsin DPI Requirements for Teachers

General Requirements for Foreign Language Certification

The teaching major or minor in a language has six requirements to be met:

competency in using the language

understanding of the culture

understanding of basic linguistics and second language acquisition

methodology (instruction and assessment)

an immersion experience (often satisfied through study abroad; alternatives can be approved)

a measure of the candidate's oral proficiency

Certification for Teaching Foreign Languages in Elementary School (FLES)

The FLES teacher needs to be certified in the specific language and at the grade level(s) being taught. Licenses are offered based on the recommendation for certification from an approved program at a college or university. Most institutions offer foreign language certification for grades 6-12. Licenses are also available, depending on the institution, for grades 1-6,* 1-9,* 9-12, or PreK-12. The license says:

Elementary (1-6), Language (e.g., French, Japanese, Spanish)

Elementary/Middle (1-9), Language

Middle/Secondary (6-12), Language

Secondary (9-12), Language

PreK - Grade 12, Language

The FLES certification requirements depend on what it is in conjunction with, either an elementary or a secondary certification.

Basically, the routes for FLES certification are

complete an elementary education major (1-6 or 1-8) with a teaching minor in the language (1-6 or 1-9)

complete a middle/secondary certification (6-12) in a language through either a teaching major or a teaching minor and add three components for a 1-6 add-on in that language:

elementary foreign language methods course,

a course in child development/psychology appropriate for elementary teachers, and

practicum (which does not need to be a full semester of student teaching if the candidate has already done so in another language or for other grade levels).

May currently teach foreign language at the kindergarten level with the kindergarten teacher present. In the future, the foreign language license may be extended to PreK-6, PreK-9.

It is your responsibility once you return from your study abroad experience to come into the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures office (Dempsey 230) with information to complete your certificate of residency form.

At this point to complete your certificate of residency form, you need to come into the department office with the following information:

Your name

Your social security number

Your student ID number

The language you studied

The location of your study

The date you left

and the date you returned

Processing the form is very quick for those who take part in our campus study abroad programs, because the faculty who led the program verifies their participation and signs the form along with our chair's signature.

For those of you who go through other campuses, or have done your study abroad on your own, you will need to complete a transfer credit prior approval form before you leave the country,

And then, a transcript from the school you attended must be sent to the transfer student coordinator in our Admissions Office where an officer will match your transcript with the transfer credit prior approval form and assign the credits.

After the credits have been applied to your unofficial transcript you may then proceed with your certificate of residency form (see above).

After you have completed your certificate of residency form, the program assistant for the department of foreign languages and literatures will forward your certificate of residency form to the COEHS credit examiner, who will then input that task as being done on the student's STAR.